Man of Round Robertson praises Singha 7s defensive effort

Man of the Round Mark Robertson believes defensive solidity provided the foundation for success as Newcastle Falcons stormed into the final eight of this year’s Singha Premiership Rugby 7s.

Robertson helped himself to two tries in the Falcons' opening 50-12 win over Leicester Tigers during Saturday's Group D clashes at Kingston Park.

Victories against Sale Sharks and Worcester Warriors were to follow as the Falcons took top spot in the group with three wins and now look forward to next week's final at Twickenham Stoop.

And Robertson believes his side have all the tools to make waves at the Stoop as they prepare to take on Scarlets in the quarter finals.

“We’re obviously really happy with the outcome,” he said. “We didn’t know what to expect coming in or what the other teams would be like, and we were a little rusty going into the matches so had to feel our way into it a bit.

“But we played some good rugby, and our defence held out very strongly, restricting the other sides to only a couple of tries per game. So we’re pretty chuffed.

“I think we are a very fit squad, and a lot of us have played in the World Series 7s. The youngsters from Newcastle too have been involved in the Commonwealth Games so they know how to play 7s rugby.

“We’ve played together a fair bit as well, so we know how to play the game. A lot of the time it’s just a case of moving the ball into the space in front of you rather than trying to take it on yourself.”

While Robertson was named as Man of the Round there were plenty of positive performances from the Falcons and Roberston is hoping for more of the same next week.

“Whatever the squad is hopefully we can put on a good show and see how far we can go,” he added.

“It becomes knockout rugby so we really have to take it one game at a time. We need to get our principles right and you can’t look too far ahead.

“Obviously you want to play well in every tournament you play, but winning man of the round is not something you really think about.

“I’m happy to get the accolade obviously is an honour though, and I’m really chuffed to get it.”